So we meet again
by httydlover626
Summary: A young woman, learning to be a teacher runs into someone from her childhood at a zoo, who has a pet panther? Where will this lead? R&R appreciated. Not sure if this will continue yet. Modern AU
1. Chapter 1

Astrid was finally proud of herself. After all these years where she has pushed herself every day to be the best, she finally got the jobs she has always wanted.

To be a teacher.

Well. She was a teacher's assistant, but it's better than nothing. She was the assistant to Berk primary, working with the year 1's and 2's. The school was very small and so they put 2 classes in the same room.

She was enjoying it, the kids were at that age where they weren't quite naughty, just cheeky, and most of them were polite to her. Her boss, and teacher she worked with, Mrs Rummer, or Heather after school hours, was more than kind, and soon the two became friends. Heather was a fairly young teacher, only being 25, but she was a very good at her job. The kids always listened to her, and she had hardly any problems.

But getting this job was a huge challenge. For 5 years, Astrid has felt this, what can only be explained as an empty void in her life, and no matter what she does, she can't seem to fill it. She can't remember exactly what happened to cause it, it kind of just appeared. It has definitely made focusing a challenge, especially when some things will trigger the emptiness and she doesn't know why.

It annoys her to no end. All she's asking for is something to fill it, or to find the reason it appeared in the first place. Is that too hard to ask?

Apparently so.

After school, Heather approached her.

"Hey Astrid, wait up"

Astrid stopped and waited for her boss to catch up before they walked side by side down the road to the car park where Heathers car and Astrid's bike were parked.

"So I wanted to know if you were coming along to the zoo with me and the kids, after all, they all adore you."

"Well I wouldn't say they adored me, just enjoy my presence."

"No, they adore you. Whenever you're not there, or a little late, they always ask where you are and if you're alright."

"They ask the exact same questions when you're not in, your point."

She puts her hands up "I was only trying to compliment you, you don't want that compliment I take it back."

Astrid smiles at that, glad that this was her colleague. "Thanks Heather, and I would love to come on the trip with you."

Heather beams at that. "Great! I thought I was going to get stuck with a parent, as we 'must have to have more than one adult with a group this big'"

The blond cracks up at this, finding the impression of the head very amusing.

"Nice impression"

"Thanks, I've been practising"

"You've been practicing her voice?"

"You have to admit, her voice is annoying"

"Well yeah, but why are you practising it?"

"Because at parties, when it's just the teachers, no boss, we like to make fun of her, and I happen to be the best at her voice" She says that with pride and it cracks the younger woman up more.

"Not something to be proud of Heather"

"Shut up! I think I do a very good impression"

"I didn't say you didn't"

They stop by Heather's car.

"I'll see you tomorrow then boss"

"And I shall see you tomorrow my young apprentice"

"Apprentice?" The blonde raises her eyebrow at this.

"Yes, my apprentice. I'll show you all the tricks to keep kids under control, and how to avoid parents."

"If you say so Heather"

"I do say so!" And with that, they part ways, one getting in her car and heading back to their house, while the other gets on her bike and heads to her apartment.

And Astrid thought she had seen the worse of these kids, but she was completely wrong. As she sat on one side of the aisle and Heather the other, all Astrid could hear was the sounds of shouting and excited children. Heather had tried and failed to get them to calm down, and Astrid could see that her friend also hated the loud noises of the children.

"How much longer?"

"I think we still have 20 minutes."

Astrid groaned at that reply. The nearest zoo was only half an hour away. They had been on this bus for 10 minutes, but it felt like hours when you weren't enjoying the ride. The children had only sang two songs, but it felt like the wheels on the bus sing would never end. Why did she agree to this again? Astrid wasn't quite sure.

She looked out the window at the passing cars and buildings, and soon spaced out, her thoughts going to her old friends. She wondered what they were doing at this moment.

Rachel, or Ruffnut as they called her, was probably behind the till at a super market. She was studying to be in the music industry, but she wasn't sure where she would fit into it. She didn't know what job to get so just decided that the nearest super market would do.

Her Twin brother Thomas, or Tuffnut was probably in a barber shop, cutting some guys hair. He was studying the film industry, learning to be a cameraman, but discovered he had a talent for cutting and tidying up people's hair. So he took that as a job as soon as he found out.

Frankie, or Fishlegs (don't ask) was probably hidden in a pile of books, or playing video games. He was studying to be a scientist, but he had yet to choose a specific subject to go further into. He had yet to get a job, still living with his parents, he didn't really need one.

And then there was Scott, or Snotlout. She didn't really care what he was doing, only that he was doing it from as far away from her as possible. She wouldn't class him as a friend. She didn't really want to class him as an acquaintance either, but she knew him. He was a jerk who just wouldn't leave her alone at one point, and she was so relieved to get him out of her life.

Thinking about Snotlout made her feel that emptiness again. Why did Snotlout make her feel that again? She knew she had started to feel it at 15, but the last time she saw Snotlout was 6 months ago. He was still there when she started feeling it so why did she feel empty when thinking about the disgusting man?

She wasn't sure she wanted to know that answer.

So her mind wandered to her Macaw Stormfly. Now she was a bird. She was absolutely beautiful. Her yellow and blue feathers were stunning. And she happened to be one of the only things that she had stayed with from high school to now. Stormfly and her have been together since she was 14 and Stormfly was only a hatchling. They had bonded very well and soon Stormfly was her best friend.

Astrid had been so focused on her thoughts that she hadn't even realised that they had already made it to the zoo.

"Everybody stay in your seats, and wait until I say you can get up." Heather was standing in the aisle now and was making sure everyone sat back down before turning to me.

"Can you wait off the bus so I can send the kids to stand by you?"

"Of course" She grab her bag and climbed off the bus, and stood there waiting for the students to come off, two at a time. There was only 30 of them, because Berk is a very small town so there isn't many students to attend anyway.

Soon the whole class is out along with Heather.

"Ok guys let's go!" All the kids cheer as we make our way to the ticket booth. Heather purchases the tickets and soon we are all gathered around the other side.

"Ok so we are going to go around as a big group, but we are going to have smaller groups so it makes it easier to see the animals without people in the way."

Soon heather had made them into 5 groups of 6, so that everyone would have a chance to look at the animals. Astrid breathed a sigh was relief, glad she chose to have a big group, it will allow her to see how she handles these trips out of the school grounds, and she thought that's why she purposely made them a big group.

"First stop, the monkeys!"

They were now having lunch, and Astrid must say, it has been really good so far. All the animals seem happy and well looked after, and some of the things Heather said were very fascinating. Up next Heather had told her they are going to look at the big cats.

Once everyone was done we got back into a group and headed onwards. I was talking to Heather when one of the kids screamed and I looked up to see an unusually large panther standing there on the path, eyeing us cautiously. I stopped everyone as I stood there in complete shock, not even knowing how to comprehend this. How did this Panther get out of its enclosure? And why hadn't anyone discovered it was missing yet?

It stood there, eyeing us down for another minute before taking a step towards us, and she took a cautious step back, as did Heather who was trying to keep the children calm. The beast took another step and I was sure that it was hungry, before something tackled the panther.

They soon see its one of the keepers, who has a hold of the panther's neck and is pulling and tugging him. The Panther swats at him countless times, but somehow the Keeper dodges them. The fight continues, everyone stood there shocked and frozen as the panther growls and attacks the keeper.

Well, we thought it was a fight anyway. But I thought I heard a laugh once or twice, but how could it be? The panther was attacking him. But I heard it much clearer as the keeper backed up, laughing before running at the panther again, who in turn dodged the tackle and pounced on the keeper.

I almost run over to help, as the Panthers face gets closer and closer to the keepers before he starts to lick his face repeatedly, as I hear the Keeper shout his complaints.

"Ugh! Toothless stop!"

The keeper pushes at the panthers face and he obediently gets off. The keeper gets up and looks down at his himself to see his green shirt is now a whole darker shade.

"You know that doesn't wash out!"

The cat growls playfully, and walks up to the keeper and nudges him, looking for attention. The keeper happily gives it.

"I hope he didn't cause too much trouble, he's just curious. He loves kids"

He turns around and opens his mouth and starts to talk about the panther, but she don't pay attention. Instead she pay attention to the forest green eyes that were staring at them. She had seen them before. Those same eyes belonged to the auburn haired, scrawny and nerdy boy who she had known when she was 15. He had been in all the top classes with her, him matching her smarts. He had been bullied by his cousin and the rest of the school, but she hadn't been into teasing the unpopular boy, for she thought it would have ruined her perfect reputation. But she remembered him.

"Hiccup?"

He turned his attention to her, and he looked confused for only a seconds before his eyes widened.

"Uh… A-Astrid?" His confidence seemed to have completely gone, and he visibly tensed up. "I-I'm sorry Toothless scared you, he was just curious… umm…" Yep, completely gone.

"Its fine Hiccup, as long as he wasn't any harm…" She glanced at the panther, not sure if he had intended to or not.

"No Toothless here is a big softy, he wouldn't hurt anyone unless he was protecting someone" He leaned down and stroked 'Toothless' who seemed to actually purr, which was surprising, Heather mentioning something about their only being a few sub species of big cats who could purr.

"You see, I'm the big cat expert here at the zoo, my mum is the owner of this zoo. Toothless here was the reason I studied them more." The cat heard his name and roared gently, and clearly had teeth. This confused Astrid.

"Why is he called Toothless?" A little girl from the class asked.

"Well you see, when I was studying zoology, I was working with my mum, trying to work out what area of animals to study more. That's when one of the Panthers had just had a litter. Toothless here was abandoned by her, being the runt of the litter. I couldn't leave him to be abandoned because it wasn't fair on him, I should know"

Astrid looked down at hearing that, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"So I volunteered to look after him, I fed him and made sure he was warm, just trying to keep him alive. My mum thought he wasn't going to make it, and was reluctant to let me look after him, thinking he would die early. But you showed her wrong didn't you bud?"

He roared and rubbed up against Hiccups leg.

"I brought him home with me, my dad wasn't too happy about it, but he knew I could handle the responsibility. I saw a lot of myself in the cub and I like to think I had an instant bond with him. When I was feeding him, I saw his little gummy maw, and said 'Toothless' and he kind of responded to it, making a little cooing noise, so the name stuck"

"Is he your pet?" A boy asked.

"I would call him my companion. When he was strong enough we tried to return him to his mother, but she had rejected him again. So after much planning, and a lot of time trying to convince my parents. I became the owner of Toothless, and we have been practically inseparable ever since. He's my best friend" He smiled down at Toothless and Astrid could see the love Hiccup had for the panther, and could see the love the panther had for Hiccup.

So this is where he'd been for the last few years…

Heather spoke up. "We are heading to the big cat closure now. Any chance you can give us a tour?"

"Why of course! It's my job after all, come on Toothless, lets show them around."

The panther growled playfully and started to trot off in front, followed by Hiccup and then me.

 **So this is chapter one, I have been building a few chapters up, and will post them each week until I am out of them. I hope you are enjoying the story, I am trying to make these as good as my writing skills will allow, as I believe I am going to be either writing scripts when this is out, or will be starting to, because my film course covers all of that.**

 **httydlover626 out!**


	2. Chapter 2

Astrid let Heather lead the group next to Hiccup while she followed the back to make sure none of the kids wonder off. But I know they are far too interested in Hiccup to wonder off. With no one to talk to, and not really listening to Hiccup talking about the animals, she zones out and starts to think about her school years when Hiccup was still there.

 _Flashback 5 years_

Astrid was a 15 year old popular. She was known as the prettiest girl in school, and made sure to be proud. She was top in all her classes and was also the captain of the swimming team. She was aiming to be the best, and she was achieving it.

Her 'friends' were, to say the least, a bunch of idiots. But she put up with them because they were popular, and that helped with boosting her own popularity. Unlike the other popular kids, she wouldn't harass or bully people, because even if it meant popularity, it would also lose you popularity considering the kids being bullied wouldn't like you. Saying that, she would always walk the other way when she came across the bullying. She knew breaking up a fight would mean an instant drop in being liked.

After a team meet, she walked out of the changing rooms and saw a crowd gathered around what must be a fight, or bullying. But she knew when she heard the constant shouts of 'useless' what and who it was.

Hiccup and Scott (Snotlout to you and I), and no doubt Hiccup was being bullied, while no one did anything about it.

She instantly turned and started to head the other way, not wanting to deal with this. So she went straight to her locker, where she proceeded to place her swim suit in and take her lesson books out. After she had everything, she headed to class and got set up. A few minutes later, people pilled in, and she knew that must have been the end of the bullying.

Her teacher came in, and lesson started.

About 10 minutes later, a boy with a hoodie on, hood hiding his face, and a limp in his step. He talked to the teacher in mumbled whispers, before heading to the back of the room and sitting in the darkest corner.

She instantly knew Hiccup was under that hood, and knew he was covering bruises.

He looked up and she quickly turned back to her book. She didn't see the nervous blush that had appeared on his face, after him noticing she was looking at him.

At lunch, she sat at her usual table, eating quietly when Scott slid in next to her.

"Hey babe"

She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the smell of his breath, before grabbing his arm and twisting it behind him, pushing him off the bench. He landed with an "oomph".

"I'm not your babe 'Snotlout'"

She didn't want to put up with him today, or any day for that matter, but he was popular, which infuriated her.

"Aww, come on babe, not even a kiss hello?" He puckered his lips.

That earned him a punch to the face.

His flirting made her want to strangle him sometimes, she doesn't know how many times she would have to punch him before he would learn she doesn't like him. At all. But it never stopped him. In the end he would just flirt with her from across the table.

She sighed and looked over at the table in the far corner of the room where a lone figure sat.

Hiccup.

She couldn't help but be curious by the mysterious boy who had exactly the same grades as her. She wanted to know how he ticked. Who was Hiccup? She knew his last name was some kind of fish. Cod? Place? She wasn't sure, but she wanted to know. She also knew he had the most greenest of eyes. They reminded her of a forest, and she now thought of Hiccup whenever she would take a run through the wooded area outside her house.

She could get lost in those eyes and wanted to look at them from a close range, but knew she would never get close to him, no matter how much she tried without anyone knowing.

Once she tried to get to know him by being 'forced' to partner up with Him, but he was very quiet and wouldn't say anything about himself. She was disappointed to say the least.

She also tried to get him alone by bumping into him 'accidentally' and 'accidentally' dropping her books. He had leant down to help pick them up, but Scott had pushed him down, and then picked them up for her.

He was limping for a week after that.

She had tried several more attempts, even going as far as to follow him, but she gave up after the last one made Scott attack Hiccup so much that he was limping for a few weeks and wasn't seen hardly anywhere except art class.

She didn't realise she was staring at Hiccup until she heard one of the girls calling her name out. That made her snap out of her thoughts, and 'listen 'to the conversation.

A few days ago, Hiccup had been bullied a lot more than he had before. Astrid almost went to break it up it was that bad. But she didn't.

Hiccup hadn't turned up today, not even for art class, but she didn't think much about it, just thought he was ill.

But after 3 weeks, she knew he must have left. And she didn't blame him. She was surprised he hadn't left sooner. But she had wished she had broken up that fight when she had the chance. Maybe that would have been her chance to get to know the boy.

After that day, her heart had always felt… empty… She wasn't sure what it was, but she couldn't be sure… She was confused, but instead of concentrating on it, concentrated on her grades and work, aiming to be the best.

Today had been rough… Snotlout, had attacked him… again… He had try to run, but his non athletic build didn't allow that. Once he got home, he locked himself in his room and collapsed onto his bed, pulling out his headphones and trying to be absorbed into a world of his own. A world he was left alone.

A world where he could be happy.

A world that probably would never exist.

He sighs and closes his eyes and pictures a world where he was liked. Where people didn't bully him. A world where Astrid liked him… Boy would that be great…

If Astrid liked him he might die. God she was beautiful. But he knew it was never going to happen. Why would she like a skinny weirdo? Well that's what Snotlout keeps telling him anyway… Ugh, a world without Snotlout would be the best… Sure Astrid might still not notice him, but Snotlout wouldn't be there to destroy his courage.

He remembers when Astrid and he had to pair up. She tried to ask him some questions, but he couldn't speak, his heart was racing and when he tried to speak, he either made a weird squeaky sound, or stuttered everything, so he gave up with trying to talk at all.

He has tried to work up the courage to talk to him again, but he couldn't… Not with Snotlout always telling him how useless he was… And when Snotlout said it… the whole school repeated it… Well… He has never seen Astrid say it… And she has never attacked him before… Not like the rest of her group… But she always walks the other way… And that hurts…

But she still doesn't attack him… And he believes that's her way of saying "Hey I like you enough to not attack you, but I'm not going to help you because your unpopular". He can see why helping him would affect her status… She would be instantly disowned by her friends, and she would no longer be popular… and a smart unpopular would be attacked…

He should know as he is a smart unpopular…

Maybe he should ask his dad about being home-schooled… that was he doesn't have to deal with this… he doesn't have to try and avoid Snotlout… Doesn't have to explain to the teacher why he's covered with bruises… doesn't have to deal with people… Doesn't have to save himself from being a fool in front of Astrid…

But what are the downsides?

Are there any?

There must be some right?

His life can't be that bad at school, right?

…

Nope.

It's bad.

The only downside he can think of it not seeing Astrid every day. And it wouldn't be a bad excuse if she was his friend. But she hardly acknowledged him so it was a bad excuse.

Looks like its Home-schooling then.

Astrid had never expected to see him again. And she wasn't sure whether he wanted to see her again or not.

Probably not, I mean, he must hate her. She hardly acknowledged him. Well, hardly acknowledged him with him knowing.

She should have been a friend. She shouldn't care about popularity when someone's in need of help…

But she did anyway… It all changed as soon as she started University. There, there was no such thing as popularity. There it was all about getting the best you can. No popularity. Not many friends, but at least they weren't fake.

Heather has been her first real friend, and she's her boss. So it's a bit odd, but it didn't bother either Astrid or Heather. In fact, they took pride in it, not caring about whatever others say.

Yeah her life now was much better, in her opinion anyway.

But she just found Hiccup again. She wasn't expecting that. And she wasn't sure he was either. She wanted to get to know him… But he would never accept that. And Heather seemed to have some interest in him.

She looked up to see Heather and Hiccup chatting away and sighed. Yep. Her boss has a much better chance at getting to know him than she did. She decided she needed a break and so told one of the kids that she was going to find a bench to sit on and went off in a different direction.

She ended up in the bird enclosure and sat down on a bench, and sighed as she looked at the different birds that were around, she saw how all of them were so beautiful. But a blue macaw caught her attention the most. She was absolutely gorgeous. She flew around the enclosure without a care in the world, and it was amazing to watch. It allowed Astrid to forget about her cares for a while.

And she was that out of it, she didn't notice the dark mass that was slowly walking up to her until it was right in front of her.

"OH MY GOD!"

She was so shocked she fell off the bench, landing on her back.

"Ouch…"

The Panther walked over and tilted his head at her, before walking over and sniffing her. She was completely still at first before it started to tickle and she couldn't help but laugh.

The panther took that as a good sign and soon Astrid was having in a fit of giggles, and she gently pushed the head away. She found the panthers presences calming and she started to stroke his head. The panther started to purr, the vibrations going through her fingers.

"Looks like you've made a new friend"

Astrid almost jumped out of her skin. The panther just ran up to the man who, until now, had gone unnoticed, standing by the bird enclosure.

"Oh Hiccup, I didn't notice you there…"

"Nothing new then"

Astrid looked down at that comment, knowing she deserved it.

"So… uh… Is there a reason your by the bird enclosure alone rather than with your class?"

"I just needed a break… Shouldn't you be giving them a tour?"

"Toothless disappeared, and then I noticed you were gone. I used that as an excuse to get away. Your boss is a bit…" He waves his hands around before deciding on a word. "Clingy".

"Really? You seemed to enjoy her conversation…"

"I can act you know, I think I'm pretty good at it" She hadn't notice him get closer until he was sitting next to her and Toothless was begging to be stroked. She happily gave him what he wanted.

"Hiccup… Why are you talking to me…? Don't you hate me?" She refused to look at him, feeling completely ashamed, and unworthy of his presence. She heard him sigh.

"Astrid… I don't hate you… In fact, I'm surprised you're even talking to me right now, heck you know my name, and recognised me! In school you never even paid me any attention"

She sighed. She knew she had been cruelled to him. Ignored him. Didn't help him. She allowed him to get hurt, and yet she still tried to befriend him. She knew she didn't deserve his friendship. It was wrong.

"Look Hiccup… I understand if you never want to see me again… I understand… the way I treated you was wrong, and just for popularity? That was even worse… I just wanted you to know I'm sorry…"

She turns so her back is facing him, not wanting to see his face when he says he will gladly erase me from his mind. She doesn't know why, but she always feels… right… around him, and since he's been gone, she as always felt, what she can only think of as 'empty'. And even though she didn't want to accept it, she knew she couldn't just say sorry and expect him to want to be friends again, but that's what she want him to do.

"But you never hurt me… You just didn't help… If you want… we could go for a coffee later? I know a great shop…"

She looked at him in surprise.

"Really? You want to go for a coffee with me? And not Heather?"

He rolled his eyes at that.

"Yes I want to go for a coffee with Heather and that's why I asked you. Yes Astrid I want to go with you"

She couldn't help but be happy and also couldn't stop the huge smile that spread onto her face. He smiled back at her before looking around the bird enclosure.

"I saw you were looking at the birds earlier. Want to go in and meet them?"

She perked up even more at that.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's my job to teach people about the animals as well as look after them. Come on"

He outstretched his hand, offering it to her and she took it, getting up and following him to the 'staff only' door, which she presumed was the entrance to the enclosure.

He opened it and Toothless ran in, looking excited.

"Is he allowed in here? Won't he eat the birds?"

"Toothless liked the birds, but not as food, but friends. Toothless gets along with most of the animals. Makes him much more friendly."

He then bows and gestures for her to enter.

"Milady"

She can't help the giggle she releases.

"Why thank you good sir"

He grins at her and once she enters, he follows her, looking the door behind them.

She is in complete awe. The birds are so much more beautiful up close like this. All the signing they are doing, and the way they are flying, it does make it look like they are supposed to be in some animated cartoon.

She catches a glimpse of Toothless running around, tongue flopping in a very out of character way for a panther. The blue Macaw that she was admiring earlier flies down to Toothless and lands on his back, squawking happily.

"That's Stormfly. She and Toothless are really good friends, even if she teases him a lot."

She smiled at the pair of animals before frowning.

"Why is she called Stormfly?"

"Oh, when we rescued her, she was out in a storm, but she didn't seem to be having any trouble, flying happily through the horrible weather. That was until a branch broke and it clipped her wing. That's when we had to intervene and help her get back to full strength. When we tried to release her though, she came back and landed on my shoulder. That's why she's still here. Since then, she and Toothless have been close."

"Wow. So she's a warrior with a panther as a best friend"

He smiles and nods.

Toothless comes padding over, and rubs up against Hiccups legs, purring. The blue macaw looks at Astrid with curiosity, before flying over and flying above her. Astrid froze up.

"Uhh… Hiccup…"

He looks up before smiling. And walking over. He stretches out her arm.

"Keep it steady. And don't worry, you'll be fine."

She did as he told her, and kept her eyes on the bird. The bird in question flew down and landed on her outstretched arm. She squawked happily at Astrid. This made Astrid breath a laugh of shock and happiness.

"See, she only wants to be friends."

"This is amazing…"

 **Here's chapter 2, let me know what you guys think.**

 **httydlover626** **out!**


	3. Chapter 3

Astrid soon joined up with Heather and the class again, a lot happier as well. Her and Hiccup had arranged to meet up later, around 5 here at the zoo. Astrid would wait until the zoo closed at 5:30, when Hiccup will then give his mum Toothless to look after, and then they will go to a coffee shop Hiccup knew, where they would catch up. And hopefully make another date to meet up with each other again…

God when did she become so clingy to Hiccup?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Kids now, Hiccup later. They were in the gift shop, buying all sorts of crap that none of them needed. She was just relaxing on a bench outside, enjoying the sun when Heather sat down next to her.

"Hey, where did you go earlier?"

"Oh, I just needed to clear my head…"

"What was on your mind? Come on you know you can tell me"

"It was nothing Heather, don't worry…"

"Ok… But I'm not dropping this, I will find out what you're thinking" She got up and gathered the children up, before leading them to the bus. Astrid got up and started to follow the class. Once everyone was seated, they were on their way home, and Astrid couldn't help but get excited for tonight, but she didn't let it show.

After she helped the kids find their parents at the end of the day, she helped Heather lock up and they both headed to the car park, like they normally would. Heather was going on about the butt of some guys she saw on the way home, but Astrid wasn't really listening until she said-

"-That Hiccup guy was cute. I wonder if I could hook up with him"

That immediately caught her attention. She decided to play it cool.

"Who the one with the panther?"

"Yeah that one, I wonder if he's single, he would be a good fling don't you think?"

"Nah, I think he's the type of guy to look for a relationship that lasts more than a night.

"Whatever you say, you said the last time you saw him, you were both 15 that was 5 years ago, and maybe he has changed. Maybe all he wants is sex"

"I doubt that…"

"You believe what you want to believe Astrid, anyway, I'll see you next Monday, talk later"

"Yeah see you Monday Heather"

She gets on her bike, and heads straight for her apartment, needing to pick something out to wear before heading to the zoo.

She parked up in her spot and went up to her apartment 7H. She placed her bag for work by the door before walking to her bedroom and going straight to her wardrobe. She knew it had to be casual, but she also wanted to look good. She went through her clothes before picking out some jeggings, with a red skirt. She then chose a simple blue shirt with a leather jacket in case she gets cold. She put on her furry boots, before packing her 'going out' bag.

Purse? Check. Keys? Check. Phone? Check. Mints? Check.

She was ready to go. She looked at the time. 4:40.

Shit! She was going to be late!

She rushed out the apartment, and was instantly on her bike, heading to the zoo.

When she arrived at 5:10 she saw families and groups exciting after a full day, bags in their hands and children with animal balloons and faces painted. She smiled, imagining herself with children one day, walking out with a paint covered toddler who loved animals. She snapped out of the thought and got the card Hiccup had gave her before leaving to get into the zoo for free and get a free drink while she waited.

She walked up to the ticket booth and showed the woman behind the desk the card, who smiled and let her through. She walked down the path she remembered that lead to the small café and just asked for a bottle of water, before walking to the bird enclosure and sitting on the bench she had earlier that day, instantly catching a glimpse of Stormfly, who, catching her presence, squawks happily at her before continuing to fly around the enclosure.

Astrid sat there for 10 minutes, sipping at her water and watching Stormfly fly around happily. She was spaced out before she heard a happy growl and turned her head to see Toothless rush over to her and push his head under her hand, demanding for attention.

She giggled, and happily obliged, scratching under his chin which rewarded her with a happy purr. She heard a chuckle behind her and instantly knew who it was as he walked over to sit next to her, his hand joining with hers to reduce the predator to a tiny kitten.

"Well you've got Toothless' approval" he said with a chuckle. She looked over at Hiccup who turned and smiled at her. "I was now heading to find my mum before going to get changed into something that won't make me look like a crazy person in public" She couldn't stop the giggle.

"Want me to stay here?" She didn't want to get in his way and also didn't really want to meet his mother. God knows what he has told her about his past.

"It might be better if you come with so the staff don't try to kick you out, but don't worry, you don't have to meet my mum, she might smother you with questions about your intentions" She can't help but smile as he gets up and offers his hand to her, which she happily takes allowing him to pull her up.

They walk through the zoo Toothless trotting along between them, looking around contently. We stop outside a building with the words "staff only" on the door, and inside the laughter of what she presumes are the cast getting ready to pack up and head home. Hiccup signals me to stay outside before walking in with Toothless.

I only have to wait a few minutes before Hiccup reappears, wolf whistles following him. He rolls his eyes, before smiling at me and gesturing me to follow him, walking towards the car park. Astrid can't help but look back and she sees a few faces looking at her with wide eyes. She frowns before looking at Hiccup who answers her unspoken question.

"They can't believe I'm going out to coffee with a girl… sometimes they can all be a pain in the ass…" She smirks.

"Oh really?" He looks at her with an unimpressed look.

"Oh yeah, but other times they can be good and actually not annoy me" He chuckles slightly.

The walk to Hiccup's car was quiet, after all, what do you say to the person you haven't seen in 5 years?

The drive was the same. Awkward and quiet. Astrid wanted to say something. Anything. But she wasn't sure what, until Hiccup decided to break the silence.

"So, how's the last 5 years been…?"

"They've been ok. Like you know, I'm training to be a full teacher instead of an assistant, I love working with the kids. They are all sweet, and then when I'm not working, I'm out either joyriding on my motorcycle, or I'm at home playing video games or watching movies…"

"You play video games? I wouldn't have taken you for that kind of person. And Joyriding as well, you have definitely changed from the High School Astrid I knew" He gave her a sideways glance.

Astrid couldn't help the small blush that appeared on her face, but tried to make it seem like she wasn't fazed.

"Yeah well… High School Astrid was immature and idiotic. She didn't know what she was doing, and I think I've changed for the better…" She looked out the side window, feeling self-conscious.

"I'm not complaining, I like this new Astrid…" He looked over at her again with a smile. She couldn't help but smile back.

"So… what about you…? You kind of disappeared with no warning"

He didn't say anything, just looked forward. Oh. Touchy subject.

"Oh, um, don't worry about it…"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, I just, that was back when I wanted to… well... I don't like talking about it…"

"I'm sorry Hiccup, what everyone was like… what I was like… was so disgusting, and I wish I could change the past"

"It's fine Astrid… It's in the past, how about we wait till we get to the coffee shop, and then we can get to know the new us?"

"Yeah… ok"

Once we get in, I grab a table while Hiccup grabs us both a hot chocolate, then he sits opposite me and we start to talk, telling each other about ourselves, like favourite food, places, and silly things like that. They would laugh at each other's stories, and overall enjoyed the others company. Then they went back to the zoo, where they entered the bird enclosure again, Toothless following them and just spent some time with the animals, Stormfly flying around Astrid, squawking happily.

When it was finally time for Astrid to leave, she gave Hiccup her number and gave him a friendly hug, before getting on her bike and driving back to her house, smiling happily.

 **Here's the 3** **rd** **chapter, hope you all enjoyed it!**

 **Httydlover626 out!**


	4. Chapter 4

It has been a month since Hiccup and Astrid had started hanging out, and Astrid was really enjoying his friendship. He was quirky, and fun and his sarcasm was annoying yet hilarious. But she was starting to get annoyed.

Heather would not stop flirting with Hiccup. She could tell he was annoyed as well, because every time they met up, he would complain about Heather being clingy. He said she would try to make a move, but he just wasn't into her.

Astrid would listen, and try to calm him, get his mind off it by telling her ridiculous stories of the kids or other stories about her college years. Trying to make him laugh, and it would normally work.

They would go bowling, go see films, anything where they could have fun and just be themselves. Most nights, they would head back to his place, where he would have Toothless and sometimes Stormfly, and they would mess around, playing with the animals.

These nights Astrid enjoyed, loved even. And she knew she was starting to get feelings more than friendship. She was enjoying Hiccup's company more than she should be as a friend. It was starting to worry her really, what if she started to show these? What if he started to notice these feelings? What if he didn't feel the same and started to hate her? What if he stopped seeing her?

This scared her so much.

But he seemed content with her being his friend, and didn't seem to hate her… but he acted around Heather… what if he's acting around her?

She had to stop worrying… she had to just be herself and hope for the best.

Astrid had been waiting all week for today to come. It was Friday and Hiccup would be picking her up today to take her to the zoo, where she would help them close up and then she, Hiccup, Toothless and Stormfly would spend the night, relaxing, having fun and just enjoying each other's company.

She was smiling happily, her bags in the corner of the room, as she made sure all the after school kids were collected and then started to clean up the mess that they left. Heather was also clearing up, using the mop to clear up all the spilt paint. It had been an art class and Astrid had been happy to help.

Today they had taught the kids how to mix colours and allowed them to paint anything they wanted and show it to the rest of the kids. Astrid had done a small painting of her own along with the kids, absentmindedly painting a not so good toothless and Stormfly. Some of the kids painted better than her, and she was kind of embarrassed by it.

No matter, at least she wasn't trying to be an artist, she was training to be a teacher, and luckily she didn't need an art degree to become a primary school teacher. She chuckled as she looks over at her art piece, deciding she'll show it to Hiccup and see what he thinks of her 'artistic talent'.

She was smiling as she imagined his reaction, and didn't realise Heather had noticed until she snapped her out of her thoughts with her voice.

"Astrid, you've got a weird grin on your face" Astrid instantly blushed.

"I was just thinking of something funny"

"Oh? Well then stop thinking and stop cleaning the very much clean table" She smirks and Astrid looks down to see the table, is very much indeed clean, and she was just rubbing more water over the table.

"Oh, um, just making sure it's clean" She grins sheepishly as Heather laughs.

"Whatever Hofferson. Anyway, you ready to head to the car park?"

Astrid smiled as she looked at the time. "I would say yes, but im being picked up today"

Heather looked at Astrid in surprise. "Oh really? A guy?"

"Yes a guy, so what?"

"You going back to his place?"

"What? No! We are just going to hang out, not everything that involves a guy means it's a fling or boyfriend Heather"

"I was just asking! Who is it?"

Astrid debates what to do before mumbling his name.

"What was that?"

Just then, Astrid's text tone goes off and Astrid quickly looks at her phone, smiling at the picture of Hiccup which smiles back. The text reading "outside".

"I've got to go Heather, he's outside and on a schedule, and I'll see you Monday!" Astrid is quick to grab her bags and painting before rushing out, Heathers protests dissolving into nothing as she gets to the car park, seeing Hiccup's car and quickly getting in.

"Hey!"

"Hey! Ready for a great night of spending time with wild animals?"

"Of course!" She grins at him, which he instantly returns and starts to drive the car out the school and on the route to the zoo.

They still had half an hour until the zoo closed, and then 2 hours after that before everyone went home. Astrid did as she was told, collecting things staff requested, food mostly. She helped shut down the gift shop and food stalls, and even helped go round collecting litter. Stuff she had now become a professional with because of how much she helps out. She would normally help out before going to do stuff with Hiccup.

Hiccups mother, Valka, who Astrid had met and liked very much, had offered to pay for her troubles with helping out, but Astrid refused, saying she liked helping and didn't need any payment.

That didn't stop random £5 notes appearing every time she helped at the zoo.

She smiled every time they did appear, it meant at least Hiccup's mother liked her. And she was happy with that. Of course, she was saving the money up, It was her spending money, her school job payed for her bills and necessities, but the money that would "magically appear" after she visited the zoo would go towards evening with Hiccup, or other little pieces.

She would thank Valka every time she left the zoo, and Valka could only smile and say goodbye.

After Astrid had finished helping close up shop, she went on the search for Hiccup, but Toothless found her first and tackled her, making her laugh as he nuzzled into her. She now had a strong bond with the panther, not as big as Hiccup's obviously, but enough for him to enjoy her company, whether Hiccup's there or not.

She smiled as she stroked his head, causing him to purr. She loved how Hiccup had already changed her life for the better. And she hoped it would continue to get better. After a few minutes of stroking the panther, he finally got off her and they both walked to the staff room, where her belongs now were, and where she hoped she'd find Hiccup.

Unfortunately he wasn't. But his mother was.

"Evening Astrid. Have a good day?"

"I can't complain, the kids were alright and there wasn't that big of a mess from the art club"

Valka smiled at her.

"That's good to hear" Astrid noticed Valka slip her purse into her bag and mentally rolled her eyes. She paid her again? "So, I heard you and Hiccup are staying the night here. I hope there aren't any problems."

"There won't be any, I'll make sure he behaves" Valka chuckles at that.

"I'm sure you will. Well I hope you have a nice night, and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Have a nice evening Val"

With that Valka leaves, but not before giving her son a hug and bidding him goodnight.

Hiccup walked in after that, smiling as he walked over to the sleeping bags that we have stored.

"Ready to start our camp out?"

"You know it haddock"


End file.
